Following the tragic accident where four friends were killed in a car accident in Bradford, even the councils reiterated the role of the Imam, saying that they must continue to use their exposure to the Muslim youth in the Mosque to encourage good behaviour.
The Friday prayer is attended by thousands of Muslims in the UK, even those who cannot make it to the mosque the rest of the week will attend on Friday. This demonstrates how essential it is to maximise the exposure the Imam has with the congregation for that hour, you have access to your community and your words will linger on in their minds til next Friday’s khutba. Use the opportunity to benefit the Muslim community, this week, why not enlighten them about the benefits of good friendship.
Khutba ideas for friendship
Do We know the impact that good friends have on a person, do we know how a bad friend may affect us?
There is a famous hadith narrated by Bukhari that you are probably familiar with, it goes:
‘The example of the righteous friend and an unrighteous friend is that of a seller of perfume and a blacksmith (he is always with the fire, coals, and flame). As for the seller of perfume, either he will give you a gift, or you will purchase from him the perfume, or, at the very least, you will get a good smell form him. As for the blacksmith, if you get too close, he will burn you. Even if you don’t, you will get nothing, but bad smell from him, the smell of soot and burning.’ (Bukhari, Muslim)
In this week’s khutba, why not discuss the way good friends can benefit us. We can learn from them, do business with them, trust them and use them as inspirational characters.
Remind people that a bad friend is he who encourages you to take part in bad activities, whether this be using foul language or crime.
Remind listeners that the Prophetﷺ told us that Shaitan comes to a person who is all alone, and he is further away when a person is with a righteous person, so in keeping good company, you are pushing away the negative influence of the devil!
Keeping good company has many benefits:
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- Good company reminds you of what is beneficial, makes our hearts stronger.
- Around the righteous, you do not open yourself to temptations. That is why, Allah commanded even the Prophet ﷺ to keep righteous company (Surah al-Kahf 18:28)
- They are more likely to give you solid advice, either directly from the Quran or Sunna or common sense advice
A good friend has three characteristics:
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- solid religion and moral: so sin is avoided
- common sense and good intellect: even if he is not a scholar, he is praying, and fasting, and not doing major sins, you can share in his wisdom and benefit from his life experiences
- akhlaq and mannerisms: good social company that you can enjoy and learn from
Hope this has helped. May we continue to use our exposure to benefit the Muslim community locally, nationally and globally.
